Shoplifting incidents turn into robberies at Gadsden stores

Published: Friday, November 16, 2012 at 10:23 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, November 16, 2012 at 6:57 p.m.

Two separate shoplifting incidents Thursday at Gadsden stores turned into robberies after suspects fought with store employees, according to incident reports filed with the Gadsden Police Department.

The first happened around 1:25 p.m. at Old Navy on East Meighan Boulevard. The store’s loss prevention officer allegedly saw a woman concealing clothing items inside her purse and tried to stop her as she attempted to leave the store without paying. The suspect then shoved the employee and made a run for the doors, according to the police report. The employee grabbed the woman’s purse and went back inside the store.

The suspect then allegedly re-entered the store and physically attacked the employee in an effort to retrieve her purse. The two fought inside and outside the store before the suspect eventually left the scene in a four-door Ford vehicle.

The employee was treated at the scene by medics for scratches and claw marks on her neck, chest and left arm.

The second incident occurred between 6:25 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. at Lowe’s on George Wallace Drive. A store employee reported seeing a man take a set of six half-inch cable cutters out of the package and place them into his pocket before walking out of the store with the items, according to the police report.

The employee stopped the man in the parking lot and identified himself as a loss prevention officer, asking the suspect to come back inside the store.

The employee told police the man then became combative and struck him in the side of the head with a handle from a paint roller. The two scuffled on the ground until police arrived.

Investigations are ongoing in both cases.

“It’s shoplifting, but when (suspects) resist or use force to get away, it turns into a robbery,” Gadsden Police Capt. Bobby Jackson said.

Jackson indicated charges in these incidents would be felonies, which he said is a “big step up” from shoplifting.

<p>Two separate shoplifting incidents Thursday at Gadsden stores turned into robberies after suspects fought with store employees, according to incident reports filed with the Gadsden Police Department.</p><p>The first happened around 1:25 p.m. at Old Navy on East Meighan Boulevard. The store's loss prevention officer allegedly saw a woman concealing clothing items inside her purse and tried to stop her as she attempted to leave the store without paying. The suspect then shoved the employee and made a run for the doors, according to the police report. The employee grabbed the woman's purse and went back inside the store. </p><p>The suspect then allegedly re-entered the store and physically attacked the employee in an effort to retrieve her purse. The two fought inside and outside the store before the suspect eventually left the scene in a four-door Ford vehicle. </p><p>The employee was treated at the scene by medics for scratches and claw marks on her neck, chest and left arm.</p><p>The second incident occurred between 6:25 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. at Lowe's on George Wallace Drive. A store employee reported seeing a man take a set of six half-inch cable cutters out of the package and place them into his pocket before walking out of the store with the items, according to the police report.</p><p>The employee stopped the man in the parking lot and identified himself as a loss prevention officer, asking the suspect to come back inside the store. </p><p>The employee told police the man then became combative and struck him in the side of the head with a handle from a paint roller. The two scuffled on the ground until police arrived.</p><p>Investigations are ongoing in both cases.</p><p>“It's shoplifting, but when (suspects) resist or use force to get away, it turns into a robbery,” Gadsden Police Capt. Bobby Jackson said. </p><p>Jackson indicated charges in these incidents would be felonies, which he said is a “big step up” from shoplifting.</p>